Ive been getting into sikhi more in the past few years..and this has become a more serious attempt to practice sikhi within the last year or so. I have intrusive, scary and disturbing thoughts that pop into my head before i have even thought them! It started off as the odd thing but in the past few months things have gone from bad to worse. I read sumwhere that these kind of thoughts are an off-shoot of anxiety..and i do tend to worry a lot e.g how will i build a strong, spiritua jeevan amongst various other things.
These thoughts are too shameful to share but an example is an image popping into my mind of someone openly weeing in the gurdwara in the presence of guru granth sahib ji ..disgusting ino and i hate it but what can i do they just come out of nowhere...they are so random and mostly of a rude nature.. What makes it worse is tht these thoughts are all related to sikhi, our guru, sanagat and ithiaas... This makes me even more disgusted, and i feel like the only one in the world to have thoughts of this nature.it makes me worry so much about the punishment i am guna receive for havin these thoughts and what sikhi can i build up when i have these thoughts to deal with?
I also feel resentful towards guru ji at times e.g y cant guru ji just eliminate these anoying things..andthen this feelin of dislike makes me want to hate myself even more.. Its a vicious circle.
I really do not know what to do...this is seriously making me unhappy, ino sikhi is a hard path and all that but surely its not to such an extent that we r meant to be miserable (like me) constantly battling stupid thoughts all day and living in fear of how bad ur thoughts r going to become.
Please anyone shed some light

Within everyone there are 5 evils (Kaam, Krodh Lobh, Moh, Ahankaar). When a person decides or let's put it correctly, when Guru Sahib Ji does kirpa on someone and wants that person to come close to Guru Ji then these 5 chorr (5 evils) don't like it. They try their best to distract you and make you feel guilty so that you don't go towards Guru Sahib Ji but don't let them guide you just keep asking Guru Sahib ji to help.
Have yo unoticed that when you're in the Gurdwara Sahib or in Sangat or when you try to do Paath or Simran then these thoughts come even more because the 5 chorr don't want you to progress in sikhi.

One thing ive noticed is the more i worry about it the more they attack. There is immense guilt aswell, which makes me focus on it even more but then i think if i dnt feel guilty and ask for Guru jis forgiveness then Guru ji may think im not botherrd that im havin these bad thoughts.

Also i often feel helpless that Guru ji will turn his back on me bcoz these thoughts/images can get so revolting..

I agree naam and bani is the answer n i no people struggle and the panj chor attack etc but i just thought they were other vikaars, less severe and it seems like not many people suffer from extreme intrusive thoughts like me so it leaves me wondering why me and do i actuali stand a chance of having a strong jeevan..

The only other thing i can think of is take a positive approach to this problem and see the thoughts as stupid, rather than being scared of them i should ignore em regardless of how bad they may be???

If this happens to you when you meditate you are doing it right. Thoughts come and thoughts go. Let them come then let them go. It's no big deal. Meditation brings out what is in your subconscious and unconscious so it can be examined with compassionate awareness. This is a normal process. Don't try to ignore or minimize or laugh at your thoughts. Just watch them come and go and don't get caught in them.

Everyone has been given this life "human body" to attain that jeevan which will unite us back with Akal Purakh Waheguru.

So please don't think too much about these thoughts instead focus your energy on doing small things that will lead you to Guru Ji's path...like reading books about the jeevan of Gurmukhs or anything that will bring you closer to Him.

I think everyone gets these thoughts which make us feel guilty in one way or the other...so I try to put gurbani or kirtan on my phone before I sleep so that I fall asleep whilst listening to it.

This time of Kaljug does not want us to get close to Waheguru Ji so there will obstacles but we have WAHEGURU Ji, Sadhsangat and Guru SAhib Ji's kirpa to ferry us across....

It's called OCD it's not ur fault it's a disorder and the thoughts arent real they are like junk mail that come from the illogical part of the brain so you can't take them personally as they don't mean anything about your character.
Read up on religious OCD it's very common, if you can ignore the thoughts then that's great but if you cant then speak to your doc who will be able to arrange cognitive behaviour therapy to
help you. You may also be prescribed some medication which will lessen the
anxiety you experience. Don't worry as Iit's not you but do take the medicine if prescribed it. Do not analyse the thoughts

Thanku bhenji for posting ur problem here. Most of us suffer from this issue at one point or the other. Yes, I agree with Sangatji's views here. The veil created by Maya and 5 vikaars keeps us away from Parmatma. Its the "nadar" of Lord by which we can remember Him ,do Simran, read Gurbani and contemplate on it. All we have to do his keep His fear alive in our hearts. Fear Only Lord and nothing else. Pray to Him. Surely He will save you from 5 thieves within us

Thanks for asking and sharing thoughts on this common problem. I feel really good listening to Sant Singh Maskeen Ji's Gurmat recordings. It helps me to understand the problem and also guides me to get closer to Akal Purukh. I would do Ardas for You, me and everyone around for the strength to face these challenges. Waheguru.